Senior Character Animator

Mercor; New York (NY); On-site; USD 80,000 - 140,000; Part time

Job summary

Cincinnatus LLC is seeking senior character animators to help define and evaluate advanced GenAI performance transfer models. You will judge how a performance carries into new output, focusing on timing, emotion and small acting choices across feature films, VFX, and AAA game cinematics.

Role requires on-site work in Playa Vista, CA or New York, NY, with occasional in-person sessions. Strong portfolio and collaboration with cross-functional experts are essential.

Qualifications

• 10+ years hands-on character animation focused on human acting at senior/lead/principal level.
• Credits on feature films, VFX features or AAA game cinematics at recognized studios.
• Sharp eye for micro expressions, lip sync, weight and timing in acting.
• Strong written communication and ability to define evaluation templates.

Responsibilities

• Set the quality bar for carried-over performances in body mechanics and emotion.
• Critique model outputs shot by shot with precise notes.
• Build benchmarks with reference performances across difficulty levels.
• Shape reviewer profiles, rubrics and calibration for scalable evaluation.

Skills

Character animation

Senior/Lead/Principal

Lip sync

Micro-expressions

Real-time engines (Unreal/Unity)

Performance capture

Generative tools (Sora, Veo, Midjourny

Tools

Sora

Veo

Midjourney

Runway

Kling

Job description

Join a leading AI lab's cutting-edge GenAI team to be at the core of the AI revolution, where your expertise fuels the development of the most advanced AI models.

1. Overview

A leading AI lab is building a performance transfer model: one that takes an actor's original performance and carries it faithfully into a new output, keeping the timing, the emotion and the small physical choices that make it feel real. We're looking for senior character animators who have spent their careers bringing acting to life on feature films, VFX and games, to help define what a well transferred performance looks like and judge where the model gets it right or wrong.

This is a part-time W-2 employment position with Cincinnatus LLC, with the opportunity to be placed at a leading AI Lab as part of their extended workforce.

2. Key Responsibilities

• Set the quality bar: Define clear standards for when a performance has been carried over well, in body mechanics, facial nuance, timing and emotional intent, and point out where current evaluations fall short.

• Critique model outputs: Review generated performances shot by shot, the way you would in dailies, and write precise, actionable notes.

• Build benchmarks: Choose reference performances that range from easy to genuinely hard to capture, so the model is tested on what matters.

• Shape the reviewer pool: Help define the profile, rubric and calibration for the human reviewers who score outputs at scale.

• Collaborate with other experts to keep evaluations consistent and accurate.

3. Core Qualifications

• 10+ years as a hands-on character animator focused on human and character acting, at Senior, Lead or Principal level.

• Animator credits on several feature films, VFX features or AAA game cinematics at recognized studios (e.g., Sony Pictures Imageworks, ILM, Animal Logic, Laika, Pixar, Disney, DreamWorks, Framestore, MPC, DNEG, Weta FX).

• A sharp eye for micro expressions, lip sync, weight and timing, and the small acting choices that make a performance feel authentic.

• Strongly preferred: facial animation experience, and recent work in real-time engines (Unreal or Unity), VR/XR, or performance capture pipelines.

• Hands-on use of generative image and video tools (e.g., Sora, Veo, Midjourney, Runway, Kling) to create your own samples for testing and comparison.

• Able to work on-site in Playa Vista (Los Angeles), CA or New York, NY for in-person working sessions once or twice a month.

• Strong written communication and the ability to turn visual detail into clear, precise language for evaluation templates.

About Cincinnatus LLC:Cincinnatus LLC is an enterprise staffing company that partners with leading technology companies to source and employ highly skilled professionals for contingent and contract-based opportunities. Cincinnatus serves as the employer of record for these engagements, providing W-2 employment, payroll, benefits, and compliance, while placing employees directly within client teams to work on high-impact initiatives.

Equal Employment Opportunity:Cincinnatus is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, political views or activity, or any other legally protected characteristic.